Health Tip: Reading to Baby

(HealthDay News) -- Reading to your infant can help baby develop a lifelong love for books, and it can help your baby grow intellectually and develop.

Health Tip: Encourage Kids to Help in the Kitchen

(HealthDay News) -- Encouraging children to help in the kitchen is a great way to start building healthy habits and teach them about nutrition.

Study: Electronic Prescribing Cuts Medication Errors

THURSDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Hospitals' use of computerized ordering systems to process drug prescriptions prevented 17 million drug errors in a single year in the United States -- and this technology could prevent more than 50 million drug errors a year if it were more widely used in hospitals, according to a new study.

FDA Panel to Consider Brain Stimulator for Epilepsy

THURSDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) - A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel will weigh on Friday the merits of a new therapy for some people with epilepsy who have seizures that don't respond to medication.

Too Much Sitting Linked to Chronic Health Problems

THURSDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- People who spend hours each day without getting up and moving around should take heed: A new study suggests that the more people sit each day, the greater their risk for chronic health problems, such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

U.S. AIDS-Relief Plan a Success, Report Finds

THURSDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Millions of lives worldwide have been improved and saved through the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, an Institute of Medicine report says.

U.S. Kids Consuming Fewer Calories, Report Finds

THURSDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Finally, some good news in the war on childhood obesity: Kids in the United States now consume fewer calories each day than they did 12 years ago, according to a new government report.

Fetal Heart May Develop Later in Pregnancy Than Thought

THURSDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- The human heart is not fully formed until much later in pregnancy than previously thought, a new study suggests.

Fast Food Makes Up 11 Percent of Calories in U.S. Diet: CDC

THURSDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Fast food fare from restaurants such as McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and Pizza Hut accounted for more than 11 percent of the calories in American adults' daily diets in recent years, federal health officials reported Thursday.

New Guidelines Issued for Genetic Screening in Newborns, Children

THURSDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- New guidelines on testing newborns and children for genetic diseases recommend screening for childhood diseases but note that testing for diseases that strike in adulthood may not be worthwhile.

Health Highlights: Feb. 21, 2013

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay: